revolutionize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
revolutionizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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revolutionized,
past participle, past
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revolutionizing
present participle
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to bring about a revolution in; effect a radical change in.
to revolutionize petroleum refining methods.
-
to subject to a political revolution.
verb
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to bring about a radical change in
science has revolutionized civilization
-
to inspire or infect with revolutionary ideas
they revolutionized the common soldiers
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to cause a revolution in (a country, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revolutionizesimple
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revolutionizessimple
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have revolutionizedperfect
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has revolutionizedperfect
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am revolutionizingprogressive
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are revolutionizingprogressive
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is revolutionizingprogressive
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have been revolutionizingperfect progressive
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has been revolutionizingperfect progressive
Past
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revolutionizedsimple
-
had revolutionizedperfect
-
was revolutionizingprogressive
-
were revolutionizingprogressive
-
had been revolutionizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of revolutionize
First recorded in 1790–1800; revolution + -ize
Explanation
Revolutionize, a verb, means "to make a major change," like in the 1990s, when the Internet revolutionized how people communicated, got information and even did their jobs. Things were never the same again. Use revolutionize to describe something that is completely transformed. Originally, it meant "to bring about sweeping political change," like people who band together and fight to revolutionize a nation, with the end result being a new party in power or new philosophies about things like land ownership or tax collection put in place. In time, it also came to mean even nonpolitical change, like the digital music player, which revolutionized how people get and listen to music.
Vocabulary lists containing revolutionize
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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"Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center" by John F. Kennedy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The biotech company, already a household name for its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, is now betting that the same mRNA technology can revolutionize the way melanoma and potentially other cancers are treated.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
A federal fraud conviction apparently hasn’t ended Holmes’ ambitions to revolutionize medical testing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Humanoid robots have the potential to revolutionize life as we know it — but the U.S. does not have a supply chain that can produce key parts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Compare that to Mark Zuckerberg, a similarly self-aggrandizing figure who claims to be working on a project that will revolutionize art, commerce and the way that the average person engages with the world.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
A sort of invisible magic that sends information through the thin air is about to revolutionize the world.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
"This research revolutionizes our understanding of the jugal bone in snake and non-snake lizards," said Michael Caldwell, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and a co-author on the study.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
Maybe that’s the real magic of a tool like this: not that it revolutionizes your cooking, but that it makes the most ordinary meal feel new again.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025
He believes he has now found it, with the help of a retired quarterback and a drone engineer, and hopes it revolutionizes the way hockey players at all levels train in the gym.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2022
May 2001: Coca-Cola revolutionizes portable music listening with the introduction of the CokePod.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2020
Bah! the mere existence of such creatures revolutionizes Darwin's theory—argues the survival of the unfittest.
From Brann the Iconoclast — Volume 12 by William Cowper Brann
With all the changes from AI, "the computer has to be revolutionized," Huang said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
"GLP-1-based medications have revolutionized the therapy of obesity. We now have a very effective pharmacotherapy for achieving significant weight loss," Petersen says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
In his nearly three decades at Apple, Tim Cook completely revolutionized the company’s supply chain and guided the company through tariffs, pandemic shutdowns and other obstacles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Detroit: Henry Ford’s integration of moving parts and stationary labor in 1913 revolutionized global manufacturing, turning the automobile from a luxury into a middle-class staple.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
In 1927 he made an improvement that revolutionized the building of racing shells in America.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
For the home cooks: OXO is best known for revolutionizing the salad spinner, but it has also redesigned the garlic press, the can opener, the vegetable peeler … the list goes on.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Walkman came out in 1979, revolutionizing how people listen to music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Cue, who has been credited with revolutionizing Apple's services sector, was recognized this week as the Entertainment Person of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Ted Turner created CNN in 1980, revolutionizing the way America, and the world, got their news, and then went on to become one of the most prominent business leaders and philanthropists of his era.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
He’s adamant about changing education, and we’re adamant about revolutionizing it.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
